Digital Government

DHS' updated infrastructure plan emphasizes systems resiliency

The National Infrastructure Protection Plan, updated by DHS, puts greater emphasis on the resiliency of critical systems, particularly IT systems, according to a GAO evaluation.

People

Audit reveals FDA not using performance data in management decisions

The Food and Drug Administration is not utilizing performance information effectively to help improve its management, according to the Government Accountability Management Office.

Digital Government

Cybersecurity program has serious defects, GAO says

The administration has declassified much of the Bush-era Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, but it suffers from fundamental problems that must be remedied.

Digital Government

Census struggles to solve IT problems in time for 2010 count

With time running out before the decennial head count gets fully under way, key IT systems the Census Bureau is relying on still have performance problems, the Government Accountability Office told Congress.

Acquisition

Senate bill takes aim at HUBZone fraud

The bill seeks to ensure that only eligible firms participate in the HUBZone program.

Acquisition

Bid protest numbers increased during fiscal 2009

Protesters filed more complaints with the Government Accountability Office about agency contracting decisions in fiscal 2009 than in the previous four years.

Acquisition

GAO officials offer acquisition reform basics

The Government Accountability Office has some advice for federal agencies about selecting contract types to protect the government's interests.

Modernization

GAO raps FCC for communication breakdowns

The Federal Communications Commission needs to better manage the way it obtains policy input from the public and from its own staff experts, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Cybersecurity

DHS biosurveillance center not getting enough data, GAO says

The DHS National Biosurveillance Integration Center is relying on Internet data at the moment because it has not been able to establish partnerships with federal agencies to get federal data, the GAO said in a new report.

Cybersecurity

DHS lacks strategic plan for managing integration, GAO says

While the Homeland Security secretary talks about DHS unification, GAO finds gaps in plans to achieve departmental IT integration.

People

House panel told of abuses in VA set-aside program

Veterans Affairs Department officials failed to punish business owners who lied to them to get a contract set aside for service-disabled veterans.

Cybersecurity

TWIC card reader tests need best practices, GAO says

GAO gave TSA a mixed review in its latest evaluation of the transportation worker ID card program.

Cybersecurity

Delays beset DHS financial systems procurement

The Homeland Security Department's second attempt to integrate its financial systems is more than a year behind the original schedule, according to a new GAO report.

Acquisition

Agencies spending stimulus bucks through no-bid contracts, GAO finds

SBA, HUD and NASA awarded 35 percent or more of their stimulus law contracts noncompetitively, according to a new GAO report.

Acquisition

DOD to scrutinize contractors' support services

DOD will revise how its managers review contractors’ services that support work that is set aside for only government employees to perform.

People

GAO says it saved taxpayers $43B in fiscal 2009

The Government Accountability Office estimates that it has helped save taxpayers $43 billion in fiscal 2009 based on improvements that originated in its reports.

People

New rule targets award fees

A new rule could discourage contractors from competing for award-fee contracts by raising their level of risk, experts say.

Cybersecurity

FBI pushes back completion date for Sentinel file system

The FBI plans to complete the development of its new electronic case management system in September 2010, months later than previously planned, according to the Justice Department's inspector general.

People

Some IT projects may have $2 billion in overruns, GAO says

The GAO found $2 billion in cost overruns compared with original estimates for 16 major IT projects.

People

GSA starts training to end misuse of schedules contracts

Task orders have become the primary means that agencies use to buy things, but procurement officers don't always understand the regulations, officials say.